NATCHEZ &045; Talk about a tight-knit group.

Just talking to four of the students who will graduate from Natchez High tonight gives you some idea of what makes this class special &045; their closeness.

&uot;I believe our class has tried to hold it together, tried to stick together,&uot; Natchez student council president Ashleigh Irving said. &uot;We can always call on a classmate to us out. We have a great dependence on each other.&uot;

Maybe that unity is the result of their slightly smaller size &045; just 237 students will graduate this year, down from 277 a year ago. In any case, some of that closeness was evident Wednesday as four soon-to-be graduates, Irving, valedictorian Stephanie Carter, Lyndsay Burns and Dennis Johnson, talked about their impending graduation.

&uot;I’m really expecting it to be a major milestone in my life, but it will be a saddening event too,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;Our class is so united. We have great charisma.&uot;

Take Class Night, a special event put on by the seniors Wednesday. It’s an annual tradition in which seniors get together to remember their time at Natchez High and re-enact some of the more memorable happenings during their tenure. This year’s class got a late start on the preparations, and some people said it might not come off, Irving said.

&uot;But we pulled it all together, and it is something we’ll remember,&uot; Irving said. &uot;I think it was a huge success.&uot;

This class has also been vital in leading Natchez High, with numerous club presidents and leaders on the field of play and in activities like music.

&uot;It’s like we’ve been carrying the school,&uot; Irving said. &uot;All of us have been involved in so many things.&uot;

Now there’s only one more event for this group of seniors to help orchestrate, and they’re as ready for it as they are ever going to be.

&uot;It’s an exciting time,&uot; Carter said. &uot;But I will be sad, too. I don’t know when I’ll get to see all these people again, much less together.&uot;

Irving was at Natchez High Thursday working out the kinks from the welcome speech she will give tonight with senior English teacher Frances Doss helping her. The tears in her eyes at the mere thought of graduation showed her emotions more than anything she could have said.

&uot;I think I’ll probably cry at graduation,&uot; Irving said.

Don’t worry, though. Her classmates will be there to support her.